Anne Rice's second book in her hugely ambitious and scrupulously researched life of Christ begins in the last winter of the 'hidden years', culminates with forty days and forty nights in the wilderness, and concludes with a miracle - the turning of water into wine at the marriage at Cana. In a vivid and moving narrative, Anne Rice recreates that miraculous journey.

Herod Antipas rules Galilee; Pontius Pilate is the new Roman governor of Judea; and the Roman Empire rules the world. In The Road to Cana we see Jesus - Yeshua Bar Joseph - during a winter of no rain, endless dust, and talk of trouble in Judea. He lives in the obscure village of Nazareth, with his large Jewish family, sharing work, worship, trials and comforts. Whispers of a virgin birth have long surrounded him. Those around him wait for some sign of the path he will take, some with awe, others with impatience or incredulity. Yeshua, like any Jewish man of his time, is constantly pressured to marry. Both divine and human, he is not blind to the beauty of the village women. As he struggles with the inevitable demands of his family and the human need for love, we see his resolute obedience to his father.

Now in his thirtieth year, this quiet man of Nazareth emerges from his baptism in the river Jordan to confront his mission - and the temptations of the Devil - and to bring together his disciples. After the miracle at Cana, Yeshua is urged to call on Israel to take up arms and rise up to cast off the yoke of Rome. But as he refused the Devil, so he refuses the way of the sword. His is a different and greater destiny.